This application claims priority to European Application No. 01111623.3 which was filed in the English language on May 12, 2001.
The invention relates to the manufacture of an electronic circuit device, and in particular, to a device housed in a shielding enclosure apparatus constructed from a front part and a rear part which are both based on a substantially flat main shielding.
Patent Abstracts of Japan describes a tuner connector wherein the tuner package connects to various fork-like structures on the board that also provide electrical connections. In this case however, the fine-positioning in a direction along the length of the pins that extend from the tuner package is indetermined. Such indeterminate character would be inappropriate viz à viz the high quality positioning requirements of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,469 describes the double use of a female plug in the face of two applicable but different types of male plugs that have respective different lengths. Here, only the concentric quality of the male and female plugs is used for effecting a correct position. No reliance on a plurality of centering mechanisms of a complex subsystem as according to the present invention has been envisioned by this reference.
European Patent Application EP A 0 901 317 A1 in the German language discloses a tuner that may be fastened to a printed wire board through the use of two rows of clicking parts which at the same time with positioning, will provide for effecting a variety of electrical contacts. Although apparently representing a well-designed solution, the reference does not teach to use a single linear motion combined with two centering mechanisms in succession to secure an electric circuit-carrying printed wire board to its electromagnetic shield that also allows to effect electrical contacting.
The invention relates to the manufacture of an electronic circuit device, and in particular, to a device housed in a shielding enclosure apparatus constructed from a front part and a rear part which are both based on a substantially flat main shieldin, whereas the electronics proper are situated therebetween and are mounted on a printed wire board (PWB).
During the development of a subsystem for use as a motor vehicle tuner, the handling of parts on an assembly line should take as little time as possible. Various functions should be realized through the combining of the parts in the subsystem, such as the shielding against interfering electromagnetic fields, the connecting of the printed wire board (PWB) both to the mains power connection and to the tuner proper, the connecting to the vehicle antenna, and the fixation of the tuner by mechanical means.
In one embodiment, the invention relates to an electronic apparatus comprising a front shielding assembly with a generally flat front plane edged with a board to board multipin connector and an antenna pin substantially perpendicular to the plane, and a printed wire board generally parallel to and in registration with the front plane.
In one aspect of the invention, the electronic parts are preferably positioned such that the printed wire board is manufactured in the form of a larger board that comprises a plurality of such elementary boards. After certain manufacturing steps have been applied thereto, the elementary boards will be separated by a mechanical operation, such as breaking along predetermined break lines or xe2x80x9cpointsxe2x80x9d. The tolerances incurred in such breaking may be used in a preliminary positioning step of the PWB relative to the shielding. A subsequent final positioning step could then be used to secure the PWB to its final position.
The present invention uses breaking edges for a preliminary positioning, so that the subsequent operations will go smoothly.
In another embodiment of the invention, there is a method of effecting a mechanical centering of the PWB relative to the shielding assembly through the use of a plurality of edgewise disposed parts of the PWB regarding edge parts of the shielding assembly while executing a first part of an approaching movement between the PWB and the shielding assembly, and thereafter executing another part of the approaching through centering at least one of the multipin connector and the antenna pin on a corresponding hole in the PWB.